Heel-less footwear

ABSTRACT

An article of footwear including a sole assembly with a bottom surface adapted to extend only to a medial portion of a user&#39;s foot is provided. An upper portion of the article of footwear includes a periphery that is partially secured to the sole assembly. The upper portion and the sole assembly define a cavity that is adapted to receive a portion of the user&#39;s foot which leaves the heel of the user&#39;s foot unsupported by the sole assembly. The cavity has a length and a width, with the width being at least 65% of the length. An attachment assembly is secured to the sole assembly.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No.61/552,529, filed Oct. 28, 2011, which is incorporated by reference asif fully set forth.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This application is generally related to footwear and more particularlyrelated to heel-less footwear.

BACKGROUND

Existing footwear includes heel-less designs for a variety of orthopedicand strengthening purposes. Many versions of heel-less footwear exist inthe dance, gymnastics, and martial arts fields. Heel-less dance andgymnastic footwear are typically lightweight, designed for limited usewithin a dance studio, and lack rigid or semi-rigid soles. Dance andgymnastics footwear are intended to provide a low friction surface onthe front area of the foot and are not suitable for high intensity usageor impact on a variety of surfaces. Heel-less martial arts footwear areintended to provide users with adequate protection on the top, bottom,and sides of the foot. Heel-less martial arts footwear includes paddedsurfaces around the front of the footwear to increase protection of thefoot when kicking. Heel-less martial arts footwear also includes strapsalong the arch of the foot to provide additional bracing support whilekicking. Heel-less athletic footwear includes a sole with a raisedoutsole near the front of the shoe such that the heel portion of theshoe does not contact the ground. However, these shoes completely coverthe user's heel and are typically heavier than normal athletic shoes dueto the increased size of the sole.

Therefore, a need exists for lightweight footwear that promotes naturalproprioceptive response, balance, and proper contact between the footand the ground which is durable enough for high impact and highintensity usage.

SUMMARY

An article of footwear is disclosed, the article of footwear includes asole assembly with a bottom surface adapted to extend only to a medialportion of a user's foot. An upper portion includes a periphery that ispartially secured to the sole assembly. The upper portion and the soleassembly define a cavity that is adapted to receive a portion of theuser's foot which leaves the heel of the user's foot unsupported by thesole assembly. The cavity has a length and a width, with the width beingat least 65% of the length. An attachment assembly is secured to thesole assembly.

A method for improving proprioceptive response is also disclosed. Themethod comprises the step of providing an article of footwear for auser's foot, the article of footwear includes a sole assembly and anupper portion that together define a cavity having a length and a width,with the width being at least 65% of the length. The method furtherincludes a user positioning a forward area of the user's foot within thecavity defined by the sole assembly and upper portion, and positioningthe sole assembly such that the forward area contacts the sole assemblyand a rear area of the user's foot is unsupported and extends away fromthe sole assembly. The user's foot is supported by the forward area ofthe user's foot on the assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of the article offootwear worn on a user's foot.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the article of footwear of FIG. 1 as shownwithout a user's foot.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of an articleof footwear shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of anarticle of footwear shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of anarticle of footwear shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenienceonly and is not limiting. The words “inner,” “outer,” “inwardly,” and“outwardly” refer to directions towards and away from the partsreferenced in the drawings. A reference to a list of items that arecited as “at least one of a, b, or c” (where a, b, and c represent theitems being listed) means any single one of the items a, b, c orcombinations thereof. The terminology includes the words specificallynoted above, derivates thereof, and words of similar import.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the article of footwear 1according to the present invention. The article of footwear 1 includes asole assembly 2 with a bottom surface 3 adapted to extend only to amedial portion 26 of a user's foot 24. The sole assembly 2 preferablyincludes an outsole, midsole, and insole. The outsole, midsole, andinsole are attached to each other by stitching, bonding, or any othersuitable attachment means. The outsole is preferably made of neoprene,hard rubber, leather, or another suitable polymeric material.

An upper portion 10 includes a periphery 12 that is partially secured tothe sole assembly 2. The upper portion 10 is preferably a lightweight,durable, stretchable material, such as mesh, spandex, nylon, cotton,polyester, polyethylene, or other suitable material. The periphery 12may be secured to the outsole, midsole, or insole of the sole assembly2. Preferably, the periphery 12 is secured to the midsole of the soleassembly 2. The periphery 12 of the upper portion 10 is secured to thesole assembly 2 by stitching, adhesive-bonding, mold-bonding, or othersuitable securing means. The sole assembly 2 and the upper portion 10define a cavity 14 that is adapted to receive a portion of the user'sfoot 24, which leaves the heel 28 of the user's foot 24 unsupported bythe sole assembly 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the footwear 1 according to the invention has awidth W and a length L. The width W is preferably at least 65% of thelength L. More preferably, the width W is 70-80% of the length L, andmost preferably the width W is approximately 75% of the length L. Theratio of the width W to the length L remains the same regardless of thesize of the article of footwear 1. For example, for a men's size 9version of the article of footwear 1, the width W is approximately 4.5inches and the length L is approximately 6.0 inches. A smaller sizecould have, for example, a width of 4.0 inches and a length of 5.3inches. By shortening the length L of the article of footwear 1 andexposing the heel 28, the article of footwear 1 does not dampen theforce from heel-striking and the user is encouraged to use a forwardarea 25 of the foot 24 to support themselves. It has been observed thata specific ratio between the width W and length L is required to ensurethe article of footwear 1 remains tight and secure on the user's foot24. It has also been observed that if the ratio of the width W to thelength L is increased by decreasing the length L, then the article offootwear 1 becomes too short to protect the forward area 25 of the foot24. If the ratio of the width W to the length L is increased byincreasing the length L, then the article of footwear 1 becomesunsuitable for improving proprioceptive response, strength, and balancebecause the user's heel 28 is no longer unsupported and the user islikely to use their heels 28 for support or striking since the soleassembly 2 is protecting the heel 28.

An attachment assembly 16 is secured to the sole assembly 2 and includesat least one strap 18 that extends through a fastener 22 that isattached to the upper portion 10 or other securing means attached to theupper portion 10 and sole assembly 2. The at least one strap 18 may bean elastic cord and is preferably nylon or polyester. The fastener 22preferably includes a single or double loop and preferably comprisesaluminum, polyethylene, composites, or other lightweight durablematerial. The sole assembly 2 may be secured to the at least one strap18 by stitching, adhesive-bonding, mold-bonding, or other suitablesecuring means.

As shown in FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the footwear 1, asingle strap 18 has a sufficient length to allow engagement about theuser's heel 28. In this embodiment, the strap 18 is preferably 12 incheslong or of sufficient length to perform its function.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, the attachment assembly 16 mayinclude a closure 20 for fastening two straps 18. The closure 20includes snaps, buckles, hook and loop, or other suitable fasteningmeans. The closure 20 preferably comprises nylon, polyester,polyethylene, aluminum, or composites. The straps 18 of the attachmentassembly 16 have sufficient length to allow engagement about the user'sankle 29 and the straps 18 are each preferably 12 inches long or ofsufficient length to perform its function.

In another alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the attachmentassembly 16 includes two straps 18 that loop through the fastener 22 andengage the upper portion 10 of the article of footwear 1. One end ofeach of the straps 18 may include a closure 20 and each strap 18preferably has a length of 6 inches or of sufficient length to performits function.

The straps 18 may also be tied together in a knot to secure the articleof footwear 1 on the user's foot 24.

In another alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a covering portion 32is attached to at least one of the sole assembly 2, upper portion 10, orattachment assembly 16 by stitching, bonding, or any other suitableattachment means. Preferably, the covering portion 32 is attached to thesole assembly 2 and the attachment assembly 16. The covering portion 32covers a bottom surface of the user's foot 24 away from the soleassembly 2. The covering portion 32 engages the user's foot 24, andextends to the medial portion 26 of the foot 24 or covers the heel 28and extends to a lower portion of a user's leg 30. The covering portion32 is preferably a lightweight, durable, stretchable material, such asmesh, spandex, nylon, cotton, polyester, polyethylene, or other suitablematerial.

A method for improving proprioceptive response that includes an articleof footwear 1 according to the present invention is also disclosed. Themethod includes providing the article of footwear 1 for a user's foot24. The article of footwear 1 includes a sole assembly 2 and an upperportion 10 that together define a cavity 14 adapted to receive a portionof the user's foot 24. The cavity 14 has a length L and a width W, withthe width W being at least 65% of the length L. The method furtherincludes the step of the user positioning a forward area 25 of theuser's foot 24 within the cavity 14 defined by the upper portion 10 andthe sole assembly 2, and positioning the sole assembly 2 such that theforward area 25 contacts the sole assembly 2 and a rear area 27 of theuser's foot 24 as well as the heel 28 are unsupported and extend awayfrom the sole assembly 2. The user's foot 24 is supported by the forwardarea 25 of the user's foot 24 on the sole assembly 2.

Having thus described various embodiments of the footwear bearing indetail, it is to be appreciated and will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that many physical changes, only a few of which are exemplifiedin the detailed description above, could be made in the apparatuswithout altering the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein.The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respectsas illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are therefore to be embraced therein.

1. An article of footwear, comprising: a sole assembly with a bottomsurface adapted to extend only to a medial portion of a user's foot; anupper portion with a periphery that is partially secured to the soleassembly, the upper portion and the sole assembly defining a cavityadapted to receive a portion of the user's foot, leaving the heel of theuser's foot unsupported by the sole assembly, the cavity having a lengthand a width, with the width being at least 65% of the length; and anattachment assembly secured to the sole assembly.
 2. The article offootwear of claim 1, wherein the attachment assembly includes at leastone strap that extends through a fastener attached to the upper portionor includes other securing means attached to the upper portion and soleassembly.
 3. The article of footwear of claim 2, wherein the at leastone strap has a length sufficient to allow engagement about the user'sheel.
 4. The article of footwear of claim 2, wherein the attachmentassembly includes two straps that each engage the upper portion, theattachment assembly having a closure for fastening the straps.
 5. Thearticle of footwear of claim 2, wherein the attachment assembly includestwo straps that each have a length sufficient to allow engagement aboutthe user's ankle, the attachment assembly having a closure for fasteningthe straps.
 6. The article of footwear of claim 2, wherein the at leastone strap comprises an elastic cord.
 7. The article of footwear of claim2, wherein the fastener includes a single or double loop.
 8. The articleof footwear of claim 1, wherein the width is 70-80% of the length. 9.The article of footwear of claim 2, further comprising a coveringportion that engages at least one of the user's heel or the medialportion of the user's foot and is attached to at least one of the soleassembly, upper portion, or attachment assembly.
 10. A method forimproving proprioceptive response comprising the steps of: providing anarticle of footwear for a user's foot, the article of footwearcomprising a sole assembly and an upper portion that together define acavity, the cavity having a length and a width, with the width being atleast 65% of the length; a user positioning a forward area of the user'sfoot within the cavity defined by the sole assembly and upper portion;positioning the sole assembly such that the forward area contacts thesole assembly and a rear area of the user's foot is unsupported andextends away from the sole assembly, whereby the user's foot issupported by the forward area of the user's foot on the sole assembly.11. The method for improving proprioceptive response of claim 10, thearticle of footwear further comprising an attachment assembly includingat least one strap or other securing means, the method furthercomprising the step of engaging the at least one strap about a user'sheel.
 12. The method for improving proprioceptive response of claim 10,the article of footwear further comprising an attachment assemblyincluding straps, the method further comprising the step of wrapping thestraps around a user's ankle.
 13. The method for improvingproprioceptive response of claim 10, wherein the width is 70-80% of thelength.